Automatic take-up reel



. 5, 1952, D. TLGLEASON 2;505,977

AUTOMATIC TAKE-UP REEL Filed April 1, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1952 D. T. GLEASON AUTOMATIC TAKE-UP REEL -55 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1, 1950 @WVGW @013 5, 1952 D. T. GLEASON AUTOMATIC TAKE'UP REEL 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed. April 1, 1950 m a 8 w e V w z Patented Aug. 5, 1952 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC TAKE-UP- REEL Douglas T. Gleason-,, Lexington, Mass, assignon to-J, L. GlaS0n&G0., Inc., Cambridge,.Mass:,- a corporation.o-.Massachusetts;

Application April '1', 1950, Serial N 153;.260"

random inductance fluctuations caused: by imperfect cable. winding may. drastically disturb the' accuracy. ofiperformance; One instance where high degree performancesis requiredincable reeling concerns the. use (if-electronic weighing mech anisms used in bridgecrane hoists. The weighing device: in thesehoistsis mounted directly in the.- lower end of. the. hoistingattachment and requires flexible cable leads towfollow it throughitstravel. up;.and down. If theseleadsare-'either:twisted or.-tensioned. substantiallyv beyond. thetf'orce requiredfor-adequate reeling,- the; electrical char acteristics of: the-cable change suificient1y:tointer-ferewith the accuracy-of the-weighina-device;

Conventional take up reels have beeninadequatefor the purposeof such high precisionreeling as: above outlined:- Reels have-been: devised which avoid theundesirable twistingand tension-i ing; but they: have invariably employed slip ring and brush type electrical contacts'.: Such co tacts are inadequate-ionhigh pre'cision work be cause dustand corrosion accumulates on the contactsspoiling thefidelity 'ofthe circuiti' Gne-typeof hitherto known reelavoided-slip ring-contacts and also avoided twisting the cable, but ithad theunavoidable disadvantage of over-tensioning the cable.- Of course both over-tensioning andtwisting are also undesirable purely for mainte-- nance'reasons; Hitherto,- however, no automatic take-up reel has been devised which both avoids slip rings and cable twisting; and at-the same time 40 operates without tensioning 'the cable' beyond the normal requirement-for either horizontal'or Ver tical reeling.

Therefore,-.itfis 'anobject. of.-.my. invention to provide an automatic take-upreel for cables.and.-,45 thelike which does not emplcyslipi-rings, which will not twist the cable, and which will perform the reeling operation without tensioning the cable beyond the requirements of normal reeling.

Further objects and features of my invention will best be understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of any bridge 5- Claims; (01. 242-107) 2:" crane equipped'withcable take-up" reel of my; invention;

Fig. 2 is a viewinfront'elevationof the take-upreel-of my invention;

Fig. 3- isa view-inside" elevation of the-same;- and Fig. 4' is asectional view infrontelevation along the -1ines-4-'--4-ofFig=. 3.

Thepreferred-'- embodiment of my invention herein shown is mounted on -a pair of support-- ing beams l0- and includes in its general organi 'zation a heavy steel plate l2 -secured to'thebeam I 0 atone endof the reeland-a heavy steel-*pltte' l4 similar-1y secured to the-beam l0- at the other-- end-;- Plate 1 2' serves tosupport a stationary -reel'? l6 and an intermediate winding -sheave lli} and plate 14 serves to'support -an active cable reel 28* and a smaller wi'ndingmable: reel 2-2 coaxial *with eachother andwith the'sta-tio-nary reel l-fi-inounted on plate 12. A--cable -24 is mounted 'onthe reels-as'will be -more-fully explained: I

In Fig. 2 itwill' be seen that cable' 2'4 is en tirely 'reeled in; and" that cable stop 26 near' the workingt'endof cabIeZ' l-isfiush against efsock'et 23 suitably fixed to plate Wand" adapted to-ar= 1 restthe inward reelingofthe cable. In"this-po'-'-- sition cable 24' isgwound-fullyonto the stationaryreel' if the small winding'reelfili -is essentially free frorn'cableand the-activecable "reel-20' isfully wound:- It will be' understood; that" cable 24*passes from reel"Zlt'to'reel22 thr0ughi a-"per foration- (not showmin the: sidewall thereof." It is of primaryimportancev in understanding" my invention-to notethatdtcomprises "twosepa rate units, and that there is'no interconnection between the elements supported by plate lzi'and those supported by plate M- otherth'anthat providediby thecable'M-"itself: The winding sheave I8 is supported" laterally by an" armtuponrat winding shaft 32 concentrically within" reelT'IB. Shaft 32" is "mounted forirotation'in suitable spaced bearings -34-supportedjby plate rand r0- tates "coaxially 'with'andinside of stationary-reel it: A suitable-springttis housed in-a'drum-35 outwardxof plate?! 2 and; being "connected to" the"? shaft "321 servesto"drive arm tlt around'freellfil" carryingthewinding sheave ld with it: Cable" 24 enters through a "junction box- 36"" an'wpasses 1 around the stationary reel It. It will be under stood that, while shaft 32 is not supported outward of arm 30, the bearings 34 are sufiiciently spaced to provide rigidity of, alignment.

The winding reel 22 and active cable reel 20 are mounted on a main drive shaft 38 in axial alignment withshaft 32. Shaft 38 is supported by a suitable inner bearing 49 mounted on plate l4 and an outer bearing 42 mounted on the outer face 44 of a drum 46 likewise mounted on plate l4. Drum 46 houses a drive spring 41 for shaft 38. It will be understood here also that, while shaft 38 is unsupported outward of reel 22, bearings 48 and 42 are adequately spaced to provide alignment rigidity.

The operation of the take-up reel of my invention is as follows. When cable 24 is withdrawn so as to commence turning active cable reel 20, reel 22 being mounted on a shaft 38, also turns and thereby tensions the cable 24 over the winding sheave it. Since winding sheave I8 is offset, as may be seen in dotted lines in Fig. 3, cable 24 draws it around against the force of spring 33. It will be understood, of course, that the tension of spring 33 only is suflicient to operate arm 30 and does not subject the cable to more tension than is necessary to wind it around reel 22. As the active cable reels out and the winding sheave backs around, cable 24 unwinds from reel I6 and winds up onto reel 22. It will be seen also that during this phase of the operation the spring 41 on shaft 38 is being wound up. When the cable is fully unreeled, springs 33 and 4! are fully wound, reel 16 is empty, reel 22 is fully wound, reel 26 is empty, and the cable is under tension to re-wind it mainly from spring 41 on shaft 38, but-also slightly from spring 33 on shaft 32. It will be noted, however, that the cable between the stationary reel i6 and the winding reel 22 is not under the full tension of spring 41 but is only tensioned by the force of spring 33 on shaft 32, and that the maximum tension on the cable is at the active reel 28. It will be seen also that the'operation of unreeling, as well as its counterpart of reeling up, entails no twisting of the cable, and that no exposed slip ring contacts are employed.

Minor variations of this preferred embodiment of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, it will be noted that reels I 5 and 22 are smaller in diameter than active reel 20. This feature effects a reduction in the amount of cable necessary for reels l6 and 22. Furthermore, it is within the spirit of this invention to employ a much lighter cable for reels [6 and 20 where they are protected and receive only light tension while employing heavier cable on reel 22, the two types of cable, of course,

as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A take-up reel having in combination two,

2. A take-up reel having in combination two independently rotatable spring driven shafts positioned end to end in axial alignment, a stationary reel mounted concentric with but free from one said shaft, a winding sheave, an arm mounted on and secured to said latter mentioned shaft adjacent to said stationary reel and supporting said winding sheave outward therefrom, a winding reel, and an active cable reel, said Winding and active cable reels mounted on the other said shaft and secured to it for rotation.

3. A take-up reel having in combination two independently rotatable spring driven shafts positioned end to end in axial alignment, a stationary reel mounted concentric with but free from one said shaft, a winding sheave, an arm mounted on and secured to said latter mentioned shaft adjacent to said stationary reel and supporting said winding sheave outward therefrom, a winding reel, and an active cable reel, said winding and active cable reels mounted on and secured to the other said shaft with the winding reel adjacent to the shaft end nearest the said arm and Winding sheave.

4. A take-up reel comprising a frame, a winding shaft mounted for rotation within said frame, a reel driving shaft mounted for rotation within said frame and in axial alignment with said winding shaft, a stationary reel secured to said frame mounted concentrically with said winding shaft, an arm secured to said winding shaft at its end adjacent the said driving shaft, said independently rotatable spring driven shafts positioned end to end in axial alignment, an arm, a winding sheave mounted on said arm, said arm and sheave mounted on andsecured to one said shaft, a winding reel, and an active cable reel, said winding and active cable reels mounted on the other said shaft and secured to it for rotation. 7

arm extending laterally alongside said stationary reel, a winding sheave mounted on and secured to said arm, a winding reel mounted on and secured to said driving shaft at its end adjacent said winding shaft, an active cable reel mounted on said drive shaft, a spring operatively connected to said winding shaft adapted to urge said arm and sheave in rotation when wound up, and a main drive spring operatively connected to said driving shaft adapted to urge said active cable reel in rotation when said spring is wound up.

5. A take-up reel having in combination two independently rotatable shafts positioned end to end in axial alignment, separate means for driving each said shaft in rotation, a stationary reel mounted concentric with but free from one said shaft, a winding sheave, an arm mounted on and secured to said latter mentioned shaft adjacent to said stationary reel and supporting said winding sheave outward therefrom, a winding reel, and an active cable reel, said winding and active cable reels mounted on and secured to the other said shaft with the winding reel adjacent to the shaft end nearest the said arm and winding sheave.

DOUGLAS T. GLEASON.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Chegwidden Nov. 18, 1919 Number 

